One of the hottest trends today is 1:1 marketing. Variable data printing applications make it possible to personalize marketing documents, tailoring full-color images, text and graphics to every recipient based on information from a database. But does variable data alone guarantee a successful direct mail campaign? Frank Romano gives us some things to consider.

　　Case In Point

　　Pinnacle Benefits Group, a Winston-Salem, NC, insurance wholesaler specializing in individual health insurance, produced a new direct-mail program that increased its usual 0.5 percent response to a rate of 7.7 percent.

　　As a way to introduce new products (including life, Medicare supplemental, senior life, and supplemental health insurance) to insurance agents, the company’s in-house marketing team created a shrink-wrapped package of sixteen 4-by-6-inch postcards, each highlighting a different product.

　　Each glossy postcard had a slightly different color scheme, but the overall format was consistent from card to card. Each card included the name of the Pinnacle sales agent for a specific product as well as the agent’s telephone number.

　　How It Was Done

　　The company’s previous annual direct-mail campaign consisted of a single postcard highlighting one or two products. This postcard was mailed to between 50,000 and 100,000 agents in a particular area, whose names were acquired from a list.

　　This campaign differed from past campaigns in that it had a more targeted mailing list and focused on more than one product. Pinnacle mailed the postcard pack to 7,400 agents who currently contract with or previously were contracted by the company, and to agents who had requested information about Pinnacle in the past year.

　　The more targeted list was used because the piece was more expensive than Pinnacle’s typical mail piece. The typical single postcard mailer from the company cost 40 cents-per-item to produce and mail, while the 16-card pack cost $1.10 per unit.

　　The campaign produced 568 new agent appointments in the three months after the initial drop date, generating a 7.7 percent response rate. Pinnacle plans to repeat the campaign using the multiple-card format.

　　Pinnacle also wanted the postcards to have a longer shelf life than was typical for its previous direct-mail pieces. The back card in the pack highlighted Pinnacle Points, the company’s incentive program, which lets agents earn points that can be redeemed for electronics, sporting goods, home furnishings, jewelry, outdoors items, exercise equipment and travel packages, including Pinnacle’s annual incentive trip. The cards detailed the compensation package attached to a specific insurance plan as well as that plan’s specific information.

　　Two Points To Remember

　　1. They used a more targeted list.
　　2. They increased the number of products covered in the mailing.

　　We are now finding that variable-data printing is one component in a spectrum of marketing decisions. When you read case histories and best practices, it is important to understand all the elements of the mailing. Variable-data printing is one element in the “success” of a direct-mail promotion; but success can also be attributed to the use of good marketing sense.